National Core Indicators – Aging and Disabilities

Measuring the performance of LTSS programs for seniors and adults with physical disabilities

In partnership with NASUAD and participating states, we work to assess, compare, and improve programs that provide long-term services and supports to older adults and people with physical disabilities. At the core of this effort is a consumer survey, gauging people’s satisfaction with services and the impacts on their quality of life. o

Impact

The National Core Indicators – Aging and Disabilities (NCI-AD) grew out of state aging and disabilities agencies’ desire for valid data to address important social, community, and person-centered goals as well as quality of life.

The project has grown rapidly since its 2015 launch: Already 20 states administer the NCI-AD survey.

Services

Evaluation

Quality Improvement

Systems Design

Data Collection and Analysis

Technical Assistance and Training

Dissemination

Establishing Quality Measures

Gathering direct input from service users through in-person surveys, NCI-AD helps states measure and compare satisfaction with their LTSS delivery systems and service recipients’ quality of life and outcomes in domains such as:

Community Participation and Relationships

Everyday Living, Work, and Affordability

Choice and Decision Making, Self-Direction, and Control

Rights and Respect and Safety

Service Coordination, Care Coordination, and Access

Health Care, Wellness, and Medications

Measuring performance

States that participate in NCI-AD typically administer the NCI-AD survey on an annual basis, but others conduct the survey on some other recurring schedule. The NCI-AD team, composed of experts from HSRI and NASUAD, assists states by:

States can use the resulting data to track and compare their performance at the program level (including various Medicaid HCBS programs, Older Americans Act programs, state-funded programs, nursing facilities), by accountable entity (managed care organizations, for example) and on the system level. They can also compare their results to the performance of other states’ service systems and to the average across participating states.

More than 13,000 older adults and adults with disabilities responded to the 2015-16 NCI-AD survey. Across states, 80% of respondents felt they received enough assistance with self-care, but proportions varied by program type.

The results

By maintaining, cleaning and analyzing the data, and producing national and state-specific NCI-AD reports, we support states in:

Setting priorities and track quality improvement on systems level, as well as in individual programs and/or accountable entities

Setting quality assurance benchmarks

Complying with CMS quality assurance requirements

Increasing awareness

Sharing performance data with stakeholders and policy-makers

Formulating policy positions

Establishing actionable goals

Supporting initiatives

Identifying additional data needs

Project Partner(s):

NASUAD | National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities